The media uncovered a scheme for how fuel could be imported from Belarus to Ukraine

The media uncovered a scheme for how fuel could be imported from Belarus to Ukraine

Petroleum products could have been illegally imported into Ukraine from the territory of Belarus already during the war. According to the technical regulations approved after the introduction of martial law, the import of fuel from Belarus and Russia, as well as to legal entities from these countries, is prohibited. However, Ukrainian companies could be involved in schemes for the supply of Belarusian fuel through Latvia and Estonia using forged documents.

This is stated in the investigation of the Belarusian Radio Liberty. Journalists report that Ukrainian companies used fake Lithuanian certificates to import fuel from Latvia and Estonia.

Fuel supply scheme

According to the Ukrainian Energy Customs, from December 29, 2022 to January 4, 2023, the Yuma Trade company moved 50.3 tons of diesel fuel from Estonia to Ukraine. Registration was carried out on the basis of a quality certificate from the Lithuanian company Orlen Lietuva.

However, it later turned out that the Lithuanian company did not issue such a certificate. According to customs documents, from December 29, 2022 to March 1, 2023, the enterprise, using a document “obtained illegally,” imported almost 300 tons of diesel fuel of unknown origin with unknown physical and chemical characteristics. For each delivery, a fine of 50% of the price of petroleum products was imposed on the director of the Ukrainian company.

“According to a number of decisions of Ukrainian courts, the Orlen Lietuva company knew about the use of its counterfeit certificates, but it is not known whether it contacted Lithuanian law enforcement agencies with a request for an investigation. The company did not answer questions,” the journalists say.

At the same time, according to them, Cypriot companies were engaged in transporting fuel to the Baltic ports, one of them was Balticpetroleum LTD, registered in Limassol (Cyprus) in the name of Latvian citizen Armands Sadauskas. According to Latvian media, he also controlled the oil terminals where customs documents were processed. When Latvia learned about this method of supplying fuel from Russia, companies began to claim that they were carried out under preliminary contracts, and later from Kazakhstan.

Belarusian fuel, as journalists established, was delivered by sea from the Estonian port of Muuga to the Latvian port of Riga, where it was stored and processed in the territory of the free economic zone of Pars Terminals LLC. For transportation, tankers were used both under the Russian flag and under the flag of other countries, including Malta. At the port of Risa, oil products were loaded into fuel tankers or road tanks, which were transported to Ukraine by road.

Diesel was transported to Estonia by rail, but as of January 1, 2023, the state-owned enterprise Operail announced the cessation of such transportation. “From January 1, 2023, Operail will no longer transport cargo from Russia and Belarus, but we continue to transport cargo from other countries through Russia and Belarus,” the company said in an official statement.

Court decisions, fines and companies

According to investigators, one of the district courts of Kyiv fined the head of the Ukrainian LLC "YUMA Trade" 1,042,664 hryvnia for violating customs rules for the import of diesel fuel for the purpose of sale in Ukraine. These decisions and the accompanying fines are important because they indicate a violation of the law and negative consequences for the Ukrainian companies that likely took part in the scheme.

The Ukrainian company " Yuma Trade " with an authorized capital of 10 thousand hryvnia has been operating on the Ukrainian market since June 7, 2018. For pre-war 2021, the company’s income amounted to 18,031,300 hryvnia. After the start of the war, it almost doubled - to 39,146,200 hryvnia in 2022. However, in 2023, net profit decreased again - to UAH 234,600. The company’s number of employees also decreased from six in 2021 to two in 2023.

Small intermediary companies in the field of fuel supply have also begun to be created in Ukraine. Thus, investigators say that Proneft LLC appeared in the Rivne region, Cranelight LLC appeared in Dnipropetrovsk region, G Oil LLC appeared in Ternopil region, West Oil Gas Trading LLC and Carpathian Fuel Company LLC appeared in Lviv region. In general, according to the investigation, about 14 thousand enterprises are registered in Ukraine, the main activity of which is the wholesale trade of petroleum products in the territories adjacent to the country of Belarus.

Violations of legislation in the field of fuel supply have become a problem requiring an immediate response. Conducting a thorough investigation and taking steps to prevent similar incidents in the future are critical to ensuring security and economic stability

Ukrainian companies used these schemes in violation of the law. Court decisions and research indicate that the certificates were fraudulent and the fuel supplies may have been of Russian or Belarusian origin. This situation has potential security and economic implications for the country, so it is important to conduct a thorough investigation and take steps to prevent similar incidents in the future.